Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Hits New 12-Month High at $94.81

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $94.81 and last traded at $94.59, with a volume of 56895 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Welltower in a report on Monday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on Welltower from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Welltower from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Welltower in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.57.

Welltower Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.44.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.79). Welltower had a net margin of 5.12% and a return on equity of 1.47%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 381.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 7,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Welltower by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Welltower by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a REIT and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.